"Everyone will be," Saphira replied, nudging Esmeralda into resuming her meal. "Apparently, they didn't see one another and well... you know the saying about the irresistible force meeting the immoveable object?" watching Matilda's jaw drop open even as she nodded her head. "That's about what happened this morning. I think one of them probably ended up with a pretty nice shiner."

Esmeralda nodded. "She's lucky she didn't end up with a concussion and a broken jaw."

"Wow," Matilda murmured. "No wonder it woke you up."

"Pretty much. I mean we went back to bed, but it's just not the same once you've been jerked out of a sound sleep, ya know?"

Joe laughed as he came out of the kitchen. "Sounds like the first few years of parenthood, actually," he said as he wiped his hands on a towel. "You girls about done?" looking at Saphira's empty plate and Esmeralda's partially filled one. "You want to take that with you, Essie?"

Esmeralda closed her eyes and nodded. "Would you mind, Joe? I'm just too tired to eat tonight."

Joe and Matilda exchanged worried glances and he shook his head as he took the plate. "Not a problem, Es... you know that. Just give me two shakes of a lamb's tail and Saphira can take you home and tuck you into bed," slipping into the kitchen and returning almost immediately with a take out box. Matilda put the rest of Esmeralda's dinner on one side of the partition and added a thick slice of chocolate cake to the other before closing the lid.

"You know the rule - finish your dinner before you eat dessert," Matilda admonished with a finger wag, though the concern in her eyes belied the teasing in her voice. Esmeralda smiled.

"I will," she promised, crossing her hand over her heart.

"All righty, then," Matilda said as she handed the box to Saphira. "You two get on home then. And I hope your friends are okay."

"Thanks, Matilda," Saphira said as she helped Esmeralda on with her coat before slipping into her own. "See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, girls. Be safe." The two waved and moved off into the darkness without looking back. Matilda watched them out of sight before locking the door. Then she turned... only to find Joe standing directly behind her, a worried look on his face.

"Something's not right," he muttered, shaking his head as he led the way back towards the kitchen.

"No, but I'm not sure there's anything we can do besides pray," Matilda commented.

Joe grunted and turned off the lights, knowing tomorrow was going to come soon enough.

************

"Wow," Saphira said when Esmeralda was finished giving her Indi's report. "And how did Brianna react?" as they reached the metro station.

"She said Brianna was a natural with him. Adam acted like he'd known Brianna all his life."

"That must have been something. How did Charisma take it?" as they got onto their train.

"That's where it gets kinda hairy and until I can talk to Opal...." waiting for Saphira to nod after they took a seat. "Apparently she didn't take it well. Whatever she did or said, she hurt Brianna's feelings. Indi said Brianna came back from having ice cream with the two of them in a very somber mood. And as soon as her meeting was over, Brianna left for the day."

"Wait... she had ice cream with Charisma and Adam? Isn't that a good thing?"

"If I knew all the details, I'd probably say yes, but since it put Brianna into an unhappy state of mind, I have to wonder."

"So now what?" Saphira asked after a thoughtful pause. The train reached their stop and they exited the station before Esmeralda spoke again.

"I honestly don't know. There are so many things in play at the moment, and I don't have all the pieces I need to make a judgment call on any of it. I'm hoping they'll both be around tomorrow and anxious to talk about it. At least that would give me a better idea of what *they* think is going on."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed," Saphira promised in a whisper as they entered the silent house. But they had no way of knowing what the morrow was going to bring.


Chapter XXVII

Saphira crawled out of the bed as soon as she heard the others stirring in the kitchen. She gave Esmeralda a long look, then closed the door silently behind her. Everyone turned to her and she grabbed her mug, pouring hot water into it and adding a teabag, then she took a seat at the table. The rest took the unspoken hint and finished up their breakfast preparations, pulling up chairs at the table as quickly as possible.

"What's up, Saphira?" Ruby asked the question once they were all seated. Saphira gazed at her tea, removing the bag and cupping her hands around the mug. She slowly released her breath.

First she looked at Ame - who, as predicted, had a tremendous shiner that covered nearly half her face. "How are you doing?"

"I have a headache," she replied simply. "But I'll live."

"You're okay to go to work?"

"I'll be fine. I've taken something; I'm just waiting for it to kick in."

Saphira nodded her acceptance of Ame words, then turned back to the rest. "I need to know what happened yesterday," pinning Opal and Indi with a direct look. "I know you told Es," she acknowledged with a nod at Indi, "but I'd like to hear it directly from both of you."

"Are you taking over this mission, Saphira?"

"No," firmly and without hesitation. "I couldn't even if I wanted to," she admitted. "This whole assignment isn't even close to being something I could manage - not with my job qualifications. We all know what I'd do if I was put in charge of this fiasco," she added drolly, drawing grins around the table. "No," she repeated. "I'm just trying to liaison between you guys and Es so she can get some more rest. I figure with the two of you here together, you might remember something more," she said to Indi. "And either way, I don't think it will hurt for everyone to know what's going on. If this moves as fast as Es thinks it might, everyone should probably be prepared for anything."

"Is Es okay?" Ruby asked, meeting Saphira's eyes and sucking in a breath at the agony she could see. "Is she relapsing?"

"I don't know," Saphira answered softly after a long moment. "I'm hoping she's just tired. Her sleep's been cut short lately for a number of reasons. That's one reason I'm trying to take care of this now and let her sleep." She looked around the table. "Talk to me," she said finally.

First Indi, then Opal offered their perspective on the events of the previous day. Saphira listened in silence until they were done. "And Brianna didn't say anything else?" she asked Indi.

"No. She was thoughtful when she came back from her getting ice cream with Adam and Charisma, but all she did was grab a folder from her desk before heading for her committee meeting. Then I met her outside the committee room to take her notes and things and she left."

"Did she say anything to you, Jas?"

Jas shook her head. "Not a word. She leaned her head on the back of the seat and kept her eyes closed all the way home. When we reached her building, she dismissed me and went inside."

Saphira scratched the back of her neck and turned to Opal. "And Charisma just up and left?"

Opal nodded. "When they came back from getting ice cream, she had me call Turq while she gathered her stuff together. They left as soon as she had everything ready."

"That's it?"

"That's it. She seemed preoccupied, but I can't say if it was because of Brianna or Adam or something else. She was pretty focused on the kid when they came back from getting ice cream."

"All right. Thank you, ladies," Saphira said in dismissal. They took her words in the tone they were given and rose from the table. They all needed to get ready for work. Only Ruby remained seated, and after a moment, Saphira looked up to meet her eyes. "Ruby?"

Ruby covered one of Saphira's hands. "Are you sure everything's all right, Phira?"

Saphira shook her head. "I don't think anything is, Rube." She blew out an unsteady breath. "I'm really worried about her," glancing at the closed bedroom door. "I haven't seen her this run down since she started recovering. She didn't even have the energy to eat last night."

Ruby frowned. "Call her in sick and you stay home with her. I'll cover your shift this afternoon."

"That makes for a really long day, Ruby." Ruby just arched an eyebrow at Saphira.

"You think I haven't pulled a few doubles in my time, kiddo? Besides, you did it for how long before we got here? I think I'll be all right for a few days," narrowing her eyes in Saphira's direction. "Just don't you go getting used to it, you hear? I expect you to bring Es back up to full running speed pretty quick."

"You're sure?" Saphira asked seriously, not responding to Ruby's teasing tone. Ruby immediately lost any hint of playfulness and gave Saphira a sympathetic look.

"Yes," she replied gently. "This assignment is important, but we need Esmeralda at full capacity if it's going to work. She really is the best at what we do. It's why she always gets the tough jobs."

Saphira held her gaze a moment longer, then nodded. "All right - thanks, Ruby."

"Anytime, Sweetheart. You know that. And you call and let me know if either of you need anything, okay? My main job here is support. Don't worry about Matilda and Joe. I'll let them know what's going on. I'm sure they'll be worried."

Saphira patted the hand still covering hers, then slid her hand from Ruby's grasp and rose. "Thanks, Ruby," she repeated, then put her mug in the sink and returned to the room she shared with Esmeralda. Ruby watched until the door closed silently behind her, then she left to prepare for what promised to be a very long day.

************

Saphira crawled back into bed with Esmeralda, a chill passing through her being when Esmeralda did nothing to acknowledge her presence. Normally, Esmeralda would mewl softly or curl into Saphira's body or even simply sigh in contentment. But she did none of these things and Saphira's brow furrowed in worry. For a while she lay beside her, listening to her breathe. Only then did she realize that the breathing was slow and deep. She curled tighter into Esmeralda and let the silent tears roll down her cheeks unhindered.

When Saphira heard Amber and Coral return from their respective assignments, Saphira gathered herself together and rose from the bed. She crossed to the tiny bathroom and washed the remnants of tears from her face and stepped out of the bedroom once more.

Coral and Amber looked up from their breakfasts and then turned concerned glances towards one another. Without hesitation, they both rose - Amber led Saphira to the table while Coral swiped another mug and filled it with coffee.

"Saphira? Is everything all right?" Amber asked, her tone conveying her anxiety. She'd only ever seen Saphira lose her brashness once in all of the bickering and playful run-ins they'd indulged in over the millennia. So she had a hard time now trying to keep the fear and worry out of her voice.

Saphira shook her head. "I don't think so," she responded, accepting the cup from Coral absently. "I think Es may be relapsing," causing both heads to whip around in her direction.

"What?? How could she...?" Amber started when Coral cut her off.

"What makes you think that, Saphira?"

"Several things," she admitted. "I mean... I was hoping she was just tired. You know how crazy it's been around here for the last few days and her sleep's been cut into every time something new happened because of course it's her responsibility to keep track of everything that's going on. So I wasn't completely surprised when she claimed she was exhausted last night - too tired to even eat."

"Saphira, that's...."

Saphira watched the two guardians exchange glances and nodded. "Exactly." She sighed. "This morning she didn't notice me get out of bed to talk to the day crew and she never acknowledged me crawling back into bed with her when they left." She looked up at them, holding Amber's golden eyes with her own. "Her breathing is deep... coma deep."

"Oh no," Coral whispered.

"Yeah, that was about my take on it as well," Saphira concurred painfully. "I'm hoping she'll wake up soon - that she's just sleeping deeply because of her exhaustion."

"But you don't think so," Amber stated flatly.

"At this point, I don't think we can afford to wait to find out."

"So what are you going to do?"